The majority of imaging systems are inspired by human vision, and generally include a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) array behind a lens (or lenses) in a single-aperture “camera eye” design seen in the anatomy of the human eye. Such imaging sensors are intuitive and well-suited for many computer vision tasks. However, these sensors transfer a large quantity of information to a host processor. This is typically achieved using a serial connection, which limits the temporal resolution of the imaging device.
The fly (Musca domestica) eye appears at first blush to be a poorer imaging system since it possesses from small aperture optics which leads to a broad Gaussian (the actual response has the form of an Airy disk, but a Gaussian approximation is commonly used) photoreceptor response. This causes the fly to have poor resolution in the traditional sense, that is, the ability to resolve line pairs. The fly's spatial resolution (also known as the minimum angular resolution (MAR) is approximately ⅖°, compared with the MAR of the human eye, which is 1/60° for 20/20 vision. While the Gaussian response is detrimental to the spatial resolution of the fly, it actually increases the fly's ability to detect motion. Insects have the ability to detect object motion over much smaller distances than the theoretical resolution limit of their photoreceptor spacing. This is known as hyperacuity.